Portrait of A Pirate Family
by Time is Money
Summary: After Garp made the decision to protect Ace and left him in the care of Dadan he thought it'd be a great idea to travel the seas and add more orphans to the pile. If he could only have foreseen how much it would change history. AU


**Portrait of A Pirate Family**

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the series One Piece. I'm just using its characters for my personal amusement. _

A/N - This is a continuation of an AU theme from my Supernova fic "Ten Men And A Little Lady", in which the other Supernovas (sans Drake, Urouge and Capone) grew up with Luffy and Ace in Dadan's hideout.

The idea came from all those fics in which Luffy is given a sister (normally an original character), and it made me wonder: how different would the flow of the story be if he _did_ have more than just Ace and Sabo? Most of these fics only repeat the plot of One Piece word-for-word without changing anything. Even with one extra sibling _something_ would be different, considering the huge impact Ace had on the story.

So I gave him seven.

But since I love AU, I decided it would be more entertaining to write if I mixed it up even more. We all know what happens in the original East Blue saga anyway.

With that taken care of, I hope you enjoy.

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><p><em>"I brace myself, 'cause I know it's going to hurt<br>But I like to think; at least things can't get any worse"_

_ -Hurricane Drunk by Florence and the Machine_

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><p><strong>Ch. 1<strong> _The Enemy of My Enemy_

How embarrassing. How pathetic.

Tied up and gagged was not how the newest recruit of the Shelltown marine base had envisioned his first month would come to a close. If that wasn't bad enough he was also locked in a supply closet. In the dark. So much for living out his dream. He hadn't even managed to take so much as a swing at the intruder before getting clobbered.

Usopp wiggled his arms, trying to loosen the ropes, but it was futile; this girl knew how to tie a knot. The majority of the soldiers stationed there were currently on the roof, preparing to hoist up a commissioned statue of their narcissistic captain. There was no one around to hear his muffled pleas.

He couldn't figure out what such a harmless looking girl would want from there anyway. There was nothing of real importance kept in the small base.

Wait, yes there was.

His current situation had pushed it from the front of his mind, but he would never forget the menace being kept behind bars in their cell block. An infamous scourge of the East Blue, rumored to leave all who went up against him in literal pieces, had finally been caught. Captain Morgan was claiming to have subdued him, which was quite a distortion of the truth; their prisoner had been found unconscious, covered in wounds and floating out at sea in a small boat.

So this girl was most likely one of his subordinates. It was too large a coincidence that she was there now of all times. If more were planning to show then he needed to get out and warn his fellow marines.

Except that meant he had to free himself first. And these knots weren't going to untie themselves.

_...This sucks!_ He thought helplessly. _I'll just wait here until someone finds me._

Then he felt ashamed by his ineptitude.

Usopp took a deep breath and attempted to muster up some semblance of willpower. _No! I must stop the prisoner from escaping!  
><em>  
>Luckily for him the girl had been in too much of a hurry to secure his feet. If he could move around then he could find a way to open the door. It was odd trying to stand with his arms restrained but he managed. After fumbling around blindly for what seemed like hours, bumping into shelves and tripping over brooms, he finally collapsed, out of breath.<p>

_It's no use... I can't see anything..._

Suddenly the door slammed opened, the lock broken with ease, and the small space was flooded with light from the hall. He felt a surge of relief and craned his neck up to get a view of his savior. Usopp squinted around the bright glare that made it momentarily impossible to make out his features. A golden aura encircled his head, like the halo of an angel. As the glare faded he began to recognize what exactly was causing that shape. Not a halo, but an old straw hat.

The long-nosed boy froze like a petrified animal. It was definitely not a marine. However, it soon became clear that this person was not particularly observant of his surroundings. As if the poor chore boy was indiscernible from the dingy floor this pirate's wide eyes swept right over him.

"Huh?... What's this? There's no cells in here." He jabbered, then left as quickly as he had appeared, slamming the door closed behind him causing the wall to rattle with the force of it.

Usopp was enveloped in darkness once more.

He was uncertain how to react at first and just listened to the sound of the pirate's waning footfalls, his cheek pressed to the floor. When it vanished from his range of hearing he let out the breath he'd been holding in a muffled gasp.

_That was a close one. Who was that guy?_

Did the prisoner's entire crew show up? How many were there? The other marines had to have been engaging them at this point. He strained his ears, but didn't hear any gun shots or battle cries. He did notice something though, rapid footsteps that were becoming increasingly louder.

His eyes nearly popped out of his skull when the door flew open again. What he thought would be yet another intruder was instead the same one from a few seconds ago. Usopp froze again.

_Please don't see me... Please don't see me..._

The pirate's gaze flicked down to him.

Usopp shrieked through the gag which was quickly replaced by cries of pain when the intruder grasped his long nose with one hand and lifted him up to eye-level.

"Oi, can you tell me where the jail is? I'm in a hurry." He asked despite the obvious fact that Usopp could not answer.

The marine recruit sobbed until it dawned upon his assailant that the strip of white cloth stuffed in his mouth and tied around the back of his head might be causing a problem. So he ripped it off, taking a clump of hair with it.

"Let go of my nose!" Usopp croaked the moment he was able.

He blinked his wide eyes then grinned sheepishly and released his grip on the now bruised appendage. "Sorry."

The marine righted himself, took several steps away and glared at other boy, his knees knocking together as he trembled. "Y-you want to know where the p-prisoner is? Well, forget it! I'll n-never tell you, pirate scum!"

Usopp then flinched back, awaiting his due physical punishment. But the blows never started. Instead he felt the pirate take hold of the ropes, clenching his fist around several of them, before turning and running full speed down the hall. Usopp couldn't keep the same pace and tripped. The pirate continued on, carrying the marine recruit with one arm as if he were lighter than air.

"Tell me where the jail is! I have to help him!" The boy ordered over his shoulder while Usopp screamed in panic.

Using his nose as a pointer he motioned down an adjacent hall they passed and yelled, "that way!"

Maybe if he could stall him long enough with bad directions someone would come and save him. He really did not want to be dismembered down to his finger joints by the captain, if all the horrible stories he'd heard weren't just exaggerated tales.

The pirate skid to a halt at his words and ran back to where the marine instructed. "Thank you!"

Usopp continued to yell directions to him. Hopefully the other would fail to notice he was leading them around in circles.

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><p>Meanwhile, the prisoner sat unaware of his possible rescuers' intent, mulling over his situation as he tried to ignore the headache pulsing through his temples.<p>

For Trafalgar Law, Surgeon of Death, the past three weeks had been a lesson in susceptibility. If someone had asked if he'd thought himself to be infallible he would have said no. True, most unfortunate situations could be avoided if one was careful enough, but mistakes happened. Coincidence happened. Unless you chose to hide all your life and accomplish nothing, risks were inevitable. In spite of this understanding, if someone had inquired if there were any pirates in the East Blue who had a chance in hell of defeating him he would have given the same answer, no.

Arlong Park had been easy for the taking. The fishmen had overestimated themselves and underestimated him. Higher on the food-chain indeed. So grateful were the locals that Arlong had terrorized for years that they promised to keep his location a secret as long as he left them alone. Which was fine, as he had little interest in regular humans.

Being in no rush, he planned to stay there for a while before heading off to the Grand Line. When that clown-faced fool decided to raid the village nearby he opted to stay out of the way. He owed them nothing. Remaining on the sidelines and watching the show was preferable to getting his hands soiled with other peoples' affairs.

He'd managed to do just that until Arlong's former human pet attempted to manipulate him into helping with a not-so-subtle offer to do whatever he wanted. Law politely turned her down, of course, even when she'd brought up the fact that they would find his lab eventually. She was correct; the lion tamer, Mohji, tracked her there using that over-grown furball.

When dealing with the simple-minded Law made sure not to confuse them with any complex thoughts, especially if he wanted them to go away. Mohji refused to take a hint though, and when Richie started to trample on Law's delicate medical equipment he'd removed all four of the beast's legs. His owner hadn't been too appreciative if the horrified yells were anything to go by.

His captain, plus half the crew, had arrived shortly after, vexed that their pillaging festivities were so rudely interrupted. They were all weaklings, even more so than Arlong's crew. Well, aside from Buggy, that is.

Of all the East Blue pirate captains he could have encountered it had to be the one whose Devil Fruit power rendered his utterly useless. Really now, a man who could split his body into pieces at will and float around? What bullshit.

Not that he'd rolled over the moment he learned his main way of fighting was out of the picture. Law had many tricks up his sleeve and that had evened out the fight a bit. But for all his improvising in the end it hadn't been enough to tip the scales in his favor.

Reasoning with Buggy hadn't done any good, the clown's ears may as well have been stuffed with confetti. Instead the other pirate had gleefully decided to use his "Buggy Bomb" to celebrate the victory and placed Law directly in the path of the blast. Using his last ounces of strength he'd managed to throw himself out of the way, but flying debris had injured him further. Then, after the rest of the crew had reassembled themselves, they'd dumped him in a life boat and sent him to drift in the sea.

He supposed it could have been worse. Instead of a patrolling marine ship coming across him, the life boat could have sunk, or gotten eaten by a Sea King. If he had been of weaker constitution he might have bled out. Things had turned out surprisingly good considering the alternatives. Of course there was his impending execution that he somehow had to avoid, but maybe fate would toss him a bone and let him escape by a hair's breadth. Law chuckled at that thought; it reminded him of Luffy.

Creaking hinges let him know that the door at the end of the room had just opened. His cell was at the opposite end and angled in a way that he could never see who it was when they first entered. It was most likely Morgan's obnoxious son again, come to poke at the tiger while the brat remained safely outside the cage.

Law closed his eyes and relaxed as much as he was able, pretending to be asleep. Helmeppo was nothing more than a spoiled pushover who liked the sound of his own voice. Completely uninteresting; he wasn't even worth Law's effort to badger. It was impossible to verbally spar when the twit would threaten to run to his father at every insult.

Strange, it was far too quiet to be Morgan's son. His braying laugh was always an indicator that he was nearing. Wondering if it was the captain himself this time, he opened his eyes.

Instead of a skinny, blond male standing there it was a young, red-headed female. He was well acquainted with this one and had a good idea as to why she was there.

He decided to break the silence first. "Oh, it's you, Miss Nami."

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><p>Nami felt torn. First Arlong, then the creepy doctor, and now that mad-man circus freak. What had the inhabitants of Cocoyashi done to deserve pirates playing musical chairs with their home? Despite her loathing of them, here she was, attempting to rescue one.<p>

It wasn't because of gratitude. Pirates were undeserving of it in her opinion. No, if she would have had a better option the thief would have gladly left Trafalgar to rot.

She found it hard to accept, but, this man was the best thing that had happened to her home in a decade. No one else, not the marines, not even Nami herself, had managed (or bothered) to break Arlong's iron grip on Cocoyashi. Sad as it was, they all owed him their lives. And now she was here seeing if he could help them again.

The base was far too quiet. Nami hadn't seen any personnel aside from that janitor since she'd stepped foot in there. She had no clue why they'd leave the place open for trespassers like this, but she wasn't complaining. It made an insane task seem much less daunting.

The cell block was underground, accessible only by a flight of stairs hidden behind an unmarked door. At the end of the stairs was yet another door. She stepped down lightly and looked inside the small, barred window, checking for guards. There were none. She tested the door; it was unlocked. Nami shook her head and walked in. Whoever was in charge of this base needed to have his ego deflated before he got everyone stationed there killed.

It was insufficiently lit by three small lanterns hanging on the wall, leaving most of the cells' interiors swathed in shadow. She hurried past each, peering inside, but they were all empty. For a moment she was afraid she had the wrong section of the building. Then she reached the last cell and there he was, sitting on the only piece of furniture provided.

Battered and bloody, he was slumped over in a way that made him appear dead. She knew he wasn't though, or why bother setting up an execution? She figured he was trying to conserve what little energy he had. His complexion was pallid, making the dark circles under his eyes stand out even more in contrast. Nami couldn't see the extent of the damage even as she leaned closer, squinting between the bars.

His eyes opened suddenly as he turned to look at her, causing the thief to startle and jolt back.

"Oh, it's you, Miss Nami." He spoke with his usual apathy, though his typically smooth voice had a rasping edge to it.

"This is certainly a switch." She placed her hands on her hips, trying to mirror his nonchalant tone, but the thief was too anxious to pull it off and her words cracked.

Law nodded stiffly. "It certainly is. Why are you here?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm just returning the favor is all."

"Favor?"

Nami suppressed the desire to yell at him for making her say it. "You got rid of Arlong."

He was silent for a moment before responding. "I didn't do it with the intent of freeing your island."

Nami waved a hand in dismissal. "I know that."

"And since you did claim to despise pirates," he continued after shifting his position so he wouldn't have to turn his head to see her, "I'm curious what your reasons for helping me are. Quite a feat of bravery; sneaking into a marine base to free a prisoner whom you have no personal connection to."

She leaned her back against the the wall next to the cell door. "Are you saying you'd rather be left in here? I heard they were going to execute you soon."

"I am aware." The end of the sentence was punctuated with a sharp cough and a grimace.

Nami stared down at the stone floor. "What about Arlong's old base, weren't you living there?"

"When Mr. Clown attacked quite a few of the Fishmen escaped in the process. My lab was destroyed beyond repair. There's no point in me going back anymore."

The map maker grit her teeth, displeased the Surgeon of Death wasn't cooperating like she needed. "Well, don't you want revenge? Pirates are _always _worried about their pride!"

He gave the barest of shrugs. "I have no interest in revenge; it's a waste of energy. Also it'd be too much of a hassle to fight Mr. Clown again, especially since I'm still injured."

Nami's looked him over until she noticed the bandages peaking out of the rolled up sleeves of his blood-stained sweatshirt. "They treated your wounds?"

"Enough so that I could be conscious for my execution, but I'm in no shape to be running around, unfortunately." He smirked and raised his hands up to show her the cuffs. "The captain of the base has the key to these. If you were hoping to use me as a shield on the way out, then sorry to say I wont be able to oblige. As long as they're on me I can't do much of anything."

Nami smirked knowingly. "Those? Consider them a non-issue."

The tattooed man raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Reaching behind her back she pulled out a long, cloth pouch and opened the drawstring. Inside were thin metal instruments, each bent in a different angle on one end. Selecting two she slid them into the key hole and twisted them with delicate precision, her eyes unfocused in concentration. Several minutes later the lock gave a resounding click and Nami grinned.

"Nice to know you're so talented." The doctor commented with an amused tone.

"Of course." Nami gave him a thumbs up and swung the cell door open.

"Now," she stopped when she reached the center of the space and stood in front of Law, "opening the cell, that counts as one favor, yes? So if I succeed in taking the cuffs off, that counts as another."

The doctor stared at her, unblinking, mostly likely contemplating how to kill her once this was over, but it was a chance she had to take. It was for everyone back home. If Buggy hadn't destroyed it already, that is.

Nami swatted the image from her mind, it was too late for having second thoughts. "Well? If I take those cuffs off, that means you agree to help with Buggy."

It was a lofty demand, even for her. She had predicted he would scoff at her, threaten her, but she wasn't sure how to react when he started _laughing_. It was largest display of emotion she'd ever witnessed from the doctor. Frankly, she'd been convinced he wasn't capable of it.

"You're very interesting." He smiled, flashing straight, white teeth. "It's a deal."

"If you please." She pointed to the manacles on his wrists as she closed the rest of the distance between them.

Law held up his arms again so she could reach the key hole on the underside of the cuffs. She ran her index finger over the dark alloy, noting its odd texture, before getting to work on picking the lock. It was a tough one to crack; twice she had to switch tools to find the right combination, but a while later the cuffs snapped off and dropped to the floor.

Immediately she noticed a difference in the doctor's condition, as if a great weight had been lifted off of him. The cuffs hadn't seemed that heavy. No matter, it wasn't that important.

Nami beckoned for him to follow. "Let's go."

Now for the hard part; getting out before the marines found them.

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><p>Whew! I haven't written anything that long in a while. Hope it didn't seem choppy... or too out-there for readers to follow.<p> 


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